A “Peculiar” Parish The History of Stillington Volume 1 By Grahame Richardson Index of Chapters A “Peculiar” Parish. The History of Stillington- Volume 1 General History Pages 1-9 Crofts Page 10 for much greater detail see separate Book Laurence Sterne Page 13 Enclosure Act 1767 Page 14 for details as recorded by John Hall see separate Book The Turnpike Page 16 Highways Page 17 Nawton and Wombleton Page 19 Population Page 19 Poor Law Page 20 The Crofts cont’d and Stillington in the 1800’s Page 21 Stillington Parish Council Page 22 The National School Page 23 Church and Chapel Page 24 for detailed History- see separate Book Luce Balk Page 24 Village Pound & 1851 Map Pages 25 and 26 Wills and Charities Page 27 and 28 Boulder Page 29 Lake on Carr Page 30 St. John’s Well Page 30 Publicly Funded Housing Page 30 Boundary of Stillington With Easingwold Page 31 Cash Book of Richard Cholomley of Brandsby 1602-1623 Pages 32/33 Initials on Gable ends etc Pages 34/40 Mills Pages 41/48 Public Houses Pages 49/51 Doctors of Stillington Page 52 William Oddie Vicar of Stillington Page 53/54 The sad and curious case of Dr. Farbrace Sydney Gramshaw Pages 54/57 Noah Wynn Pages 58/60 Stillington Hall Pages 61/62 Catholic Orders in Stillington Page 63 Stillington Post Office and Shop Pages 64/68 Richard Cordukes Page 66 William Wright 1805-1868 Page 67 John Cooper 1839 Artilleryman Regt of Foot (Royal Anglican) Page 68/69 WW1 Casualties Page 70 WW2 Men who served Pages 70/76 Church Court Pages 78/80 including the case of Jane Harbottle Civil Court Pages 81/82 Vestry Page 83 Church Wardens 1753-73 Page 84 Overseers of the Highway 1753-73 Pages 85/86 Overseers of the Poor 1753-73 Pages 87/89 Constable Page 90 Civil Court list of Officials Pages 91/92 Publicly Funded Housing Page 95 Registering Title to “Village Land” Page 96 November 5th Page 96 Yearly Rents 1659 Pages 97/98 St. Nicholas Church, Plan BEFORE 1840 Page 99 Map of Stillington 1767 deposited by Parish Council with Borthwick Institute. For details of the Award as recorded by John Hall 1751-1840 (his book loaned to me by Audrey and Bill Shepherd) See separate Book For details of names given to Fields in the 1850’s -see my separate Book For details of occupants of houses from circa 1767- see my separate Book. The “Peculiar” Parish of Stillington Having always been interested in history, I began in 1992 to collate articles of interest on the village of Stillington. Now some 26 years later I have put most, but by no means all, into book form. A number of people have in the past recorded matters relating to Stillington, the principal one being Geoffrey C. Cowling. He stated in his book, first published in 1968, called The History of Easingwold and the Forest of Galtres, that “this book has been developed from notes made over the past ten years”. His notes covered the area all around Easingwold, but the published book did not say a lot relating to Stillington which is understandable as it was mainly on matters relating to Easingwold. The notes were deposited at York Library and I was able to look at them on a number of occasions in the 1990’s. Since then I have been informed on many occasions that they are held in “deep storage probably in some salt mine in Cheshire” awaiting to be catalogued and despite my many requests I have been unable to obtain them. Fortunately I took some notes but the originals appear to have been mislaid. Stillington Village History Group published an excellent book in 2000. Although it covered the period from Doomsday its main value, in my opinion, was for the period from 1900 as many of the contributors had personal knowledge of that period or had memories passed down to them from their parents. I have purposely avoided this period unless it has been on subjects particularly close to my heart, such as the history of the Croft family, or Religion in Stillington. In these instances I have been careful not to depend upon the book for my information. Stillington and District Community Archives have an excellent web site which is being added to all the time. Again I have been careful to keep to my own research, although no doubt both they and I have researched the same public records. Most of my research has been at the Borthwick Institute at York University, who have been particularly helpful also Northallerton County Records, East Riding Records at Beverley, Durham Records Office. Particular thanks to Audrey and Bill Shepherd and members of their family, John Sparrow, John Manson, Margaret and Don Brown, Dave and Elizabeth Green, Dennis and Murial Law and many other local people. As mentioned above this is only a selection of my notes. Some would be best left for the future! Grahame Richardson March 2018 A “Peculiar” Parish,- The History of Stillington by Grahame Richardson Wills of people from Wombleton and Nawton as well as Stillington were allowed to be proved at the Stillington church which was called a PECULIAR (able to prove its own wills). Hence the name of this book. These are held at the Borthwick (York University) for the period 1515-1843. The early part of this “book” draws on records (in manuscript) called The History of Easingwold & the Forest of Galtres- By Geoffrey C. Cowling dec’d – York City Reference Library. (but the manuscript has been “put into deep storage and despite me requesting it for many years the library has been unable to recover it -8.3.2018. Fortunately I had been able to photo copy some of its pages) The name of the village is of Anglican form and means “the farm (or settlement) of Styfel”. It is a spring line settlement with wells each spaced to serve two properties. In many of the old deeds to village houses a right of way is given to the rear of the property next door in order to draw water from the well. Just after 627 it is said that Paulinus preached and Baptised in the area. There is an irregular circular field on the boundary of Stillington and Easingwold on which the golf course now stands adjacent to the field called Paulinus Carr. It is of an area of 11.655 Acres. It is well sited for the (supposed) Roman roads that run through Stillington to Easingwold and from York to Craike and cross near here. In 1066 and 1086 the manor of Stillington was held by the Archbishop of York (1066 Ealdraed and 1086 Thomas). In 1086 he had at Stillington ten carucates of taxable land and a (water) mill valued at three shillings. There were six villeins, two ploughs and eight acres of meadow, with wood pasture, the village being a mile and a half long and half a mile broad. He also held 4 carcucates in Nawton and one carcucate in Wombleton, both of the parish of Kirkdale & half a carucate in Coulston, soke of Helmsley. In the time of King Edward the Confessor (1004 - 1066) the manor was worth forty shillings, but in 1086 only 10s (In 1069 William the Conqueror had laid waste great swaithes of land North and East of York). In 1066 Nawton was held partly by Thorbrand. In 1086 his land was held by Berengar de Tosny. The remainder was held in 1066 by Ulf and by 1086 this was held by the Archbishop of York. Before 1258 a Prebend had been formed and endowed with the manor of Stillington, Nawton Wombleton, and part of Langtoft in the East Riding all these being considered part of the Liberty of St. Peter (of York). (York Minster Fasti Page 68). Thomas son of Paulinus. As a canon of York released to Riveaulx abbey his claims to the bounds of Welburn by his land of Nawton and Wombleton, which had been perambulated by Roger de Mowbray and his men, date assigned 1160-65 (E.Y.C., i, no.164; and cf.ix, no. 162) Thomas was witness to several charters at York to as late as 1194 Year 1227 Mag. Serio de Sonning as canon of York was the successful plaintiff for 6 acres of meadow in Wombleton as the right of his prebendary of Stillington, Michaelmass term 1225 (Cur, Reg. R., xii pp. 123, 191). He was still alive in 1227. Year 1253 (Raines Collection, page 165) Thomas de London –He is the first mentioned Prebendary of Stillington in Torres MSS. During the vacancy of the See prior to the appointment of Walter Grey, see Drakes appx LXV1(NB A man of the same name was granted the preb, of Stillington by the Crown 28 March 1352 (C.P.R., 1350-1354 p.242; Fasti, iii, 213); and the entry for 1253 is a almost, if not quite, certainly a mistake for this. Year 1258 (Page 69 York Fasti ) John del Langton. As canon of the Preb. of Stillington he was party to a final concord for a rent from a tenement in Langtoft 20 Oct 1258 (Yorks. Fines, 1246-72, p. 108). He was probably archdeacon of York in the period 1260-62 Copyright Grahame Richardson 1994-2018 Page 1 A “Peculiar” Parish,- The History of Stillington by Grahame Richardson On 7th November, 1270, Ralph le Rapere of Styvelington was pardoned of the death of a man unknown, it having been found before the justices in Eyre that he had acted in self-defence.(4) In 1274-75 according to Yorkshire Hundred and Quo Warranto Rolls, Page 68 “who have had approvers etc.